Resources for those interested in donating organs or bodies

If you are interested in donating your organs or body after your death, you should sign a statement of intention and let your family members know your wishes. By donating, you’ll be educating, supporting research, and promoting community service in a way that will better the quality of life of those that survive you.

You can generally sign up for multiple programs. If you wish to be an organ donor and a body donor, the organ donation will always take priority. But the University of Minnesota, for example, will accept a body whose eyes or other organs or tissues have already been donated.

General resources:

Licensed drivers can make a personal commitment to organ and tissue donation by indicating their wish to donate on their driver's license application. This lets families and emergency personnel know your wishes. Donation information is available in all driver's license bureaus in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. In these states, if you indicate your wish to become a donor on your driver's license, it is legally binding. Parental authorization is required for individuals under the age of 18.

LifeSource is the non-profit organization dedicated to saving lives through organ and tissue donation in the Upper Midwest. The LifeSource service area covers Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and portions of western Wisconsin.
Susan Gunderson, 651-603-7800
1-888-5DONATE

In the Twin Cities area:

286 Chester Street
Saint Paul, MN 55107
American Tissue Services Foundation, a nonprofit organization, strives to rebuild lives through the gifts of tissue donation. The Foundation provides compassionate support for donor families during the donation event and beyond, and partners with organizations dedicated to the innovative use of tissue in medical care.

Department of Anatomy
Stabile 9–38
Rochester, MN 55905
507-284-2201
Mayo Clinic's Department of Anatomy is located in the Stabile building on Mayo's Rochester campus. The whole body donor program has been active since 1972. The Mayo Medical School accepts whole body donations for medical education, research, the development of new surgical devices, and training of surgical techniques. The Department of Anatomy is committed to the advancement of medical and anatomical education at all levels.

MMC 493
420 Delaware Street S.E.
Minneapolis, MN 55455
612-624-6446
The Minnesota Lions Eye Bank, a non-profit organization largely funded by Lions and affiliated with the University of Minnesota's Department of Ophthalmology, obtains and distributes donated eye tissue for use in sight-saving corneal transplants, vision-enhancing surgery, teaching and research. Founded in 1960, the Minnesota Lions Eye Bank is the oldest tissue donation organization and the only eye bank located in Minnesota. It serves the state of Minnesota, western Wisconsin and eastern North Dakota. Minnesota Lions Eye Bank staff are active in national and local eye bank and coalition donation organizations, including serving as auditors, and as leaders on industry accreditation, certification, medical advisory and examination committees.

3–005 BSBE
312 Street S.E.
Minneapolis, MN 55455
The University of Minnesota Medical School Anatomy Bequest Program, established in 1901, is a whole body donation program. The primary mission of the Anatomy Bequest program is to ensure the availability of human bodies to aid in anatomy, education, research, clinical practice and biomedical device design. The Anatomy Bequest Program supports statewide education to advance the understanding of human anatomy.